Jacobites challenging legal system: Catholicos

KOCHI: Claiming the stance taken by the authorities to remain mere onlookers while the Jacobite faction challenges not only the Constitution but also the judiciary is disheartening and sad, Catholicos Baselius Marthoma Paulose II expressed his sorrow over the ugly turn of events.

According to him, it is the responsibility of the courts to resolve issues. “However, if people stop obeying the judgments passed by the court and start protesting against the same, a state of anarchy will prevail,” he said.

The Catholicos said, “When the judgments were in favour of the Jacobite faction, they didn’t delay even a minute to get the court orders enforced. But now when the orders are against them, they are finding faults with the courts. Now that is purely an opportunistic behaviour.”

As per the earlier court order, the Jacobite faction took over the churches that had been functioning as per the Orthodox Church’s Constitution since 1958, he said.

“The court orders that have come recently are against such illegal takeovers. It is their very act of taking over the Orthodox churches since 1970 which has suffered a serious setback,” said the Catholicos. All these judgments have come from the various benches in various courts that had been hearing many cases, he added. “To term these judgments to be a denial of justice is the same as questioning the sanctity of the judiciary,” said the Catholicos.